


Earth 1 and 1/2

by Igraine_smiley



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Happy, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, I just want them to be happy, M/M, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-14 00:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19262164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Igraine_smiley/pseuds/Igraine_smiley
Summary: In this universe, the disaster at Chernobyl didn't happen but Professor Legasov still had to be involved with the power plant while managing his unruly children and an embarrassing crush.





	1. May Day

**Author's Note:**

> I want them to be happy at least in one universe. I mean no disrespect.

This was earth™ but not your earth™. The scientists were right, you see? There were multiple universes, this was one of them: Earth one and a half.

Most things were the same as in your earth: mosquitos, paperwork, dolphins.. but there were three key differences. For starters, the human race was divided into three categories: alphas, betas, and omegas. The alphas were strong and aggressive, omegas were soft and nurturing and betas were something in the middle, but stereotypes had always been bullshit. Secondly, ABBA didn't exist. I know, a truly miserable world and lastly the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant didn't happen. It almost happened but was averted. Now was up to Valery Legasov to fix the issue so no reactor core exploded in the near future. Fuck his luck.

It was a day like any other for the professor. He woke up, made breakfast and now he was trying to get his daughters ready for school. That alone was a ten men's job. They had to look particularly smart that day since it was May Day. If only Masha would stop tugging at her hair ribbons! His eldest was as rowdy as one could get. He was redoing her pigtails for the tenth time when the phone rang loudly.

"Don't run away!" He warned as he went to pick up the phone "I'm not done with you" he could hear Masha huffing in the distance.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Valery Legasov?" A husky voice answered.

"Yes"

"I understand you are the First Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Kurchatov Institute" 

"I am" he replied "Who am I speaking to?"

"Boris Shcherbina, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy" the man said firmly. His deep authoritarian tone screamed alpha. He was so fed up of dealing with them "you are an expert on RBMK reactors, right?" so it was that type of call. Don't get him wrong, he was a party man but dealing with the Kremlin was a pain in the neck.

"Yes, I studied…" he couldn't finish his sentence.

"There was a small issue at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant"

"How bad is it?" In seconds he was filled with dread. 

"It was just a small fire. Everything is under control but we need your assistance. Director Gorbachev appointed a council to built some modifications to prevent a major incident. You are on it. We meet at one this afternoon" and with that Shcherbina hanged up. 

He really hoped the politician wasn't lying to him which was like asking a penguin to fly. It couldn’t be that bad, the radio was not transmitting swan lake non-top all day. He'd have to wait and see for himself what happened at the power plant. He had a more urgent matter to solve… Masha's unruly hair. He dragged his feet towards her room but found it empty. 

"God… Masha!" He yelled "Where are you? I won't play these games now, it's late and we have to go"

He looked under the bed, making a huge effort to crouch. He wasn't that young anymore. The space under the bed was childless. He opened the wardrobe and the toy box but he was met with the same result. He dashed towards the twin's room and repeated the whole ordeal. Empty. These children were going to drive him crazy.

"MASHA VALERYEVNA LEGASOVA!" 

He went down the stairs into the kitchen. The twins looked at him from their kasha.

"She said she doesn't want to go to school" Nina explained like it was the most sensible thing in the world.

"Well, too bad" he replied " I won't allow illiterates in this house" he put his hand on the table, leaning on it "Where is she?" He whispered.

"I don't know" Nina said and continued to eat her breakfast like a traitor.

"Katya?" He asked the youngest. He was daddy's girl, she wouldn't betray him.

"In the pantry with Dina" She replied immediately. Her sister rolled her eyes. Katya was right, in the pantry he found Masha hiding with their cat. Her blonde pigtails completely undone, because of course they would. It was going to be a long day.

After a few minutes of struggling to get Masha's hair done again, they were ready to go. They had everything they needed: briefcases, car keys, water for the cat, pristine pinafores...

"And my keys?" Masha asked.

"You won't need them today. I'm picking you up from school"

"Why?" Nina and Katya said at the same time.

"I'm not going to the institute today, I have a meeting" they didn't ask any further questions, adult life was that boring.

The Kremlin was imposing, leaning over Moscow like a beacon of power. He hadn't been there before. It was beautiful. It was covered from floor to ceilings with ornated textures. Famous painting rested on Hall's walls and tall buildings let the spring sunshine in. He was walked to a hallway with white columns. He was nervous. He bounced his leg a couple of times. Talking with the authorities was always unnerving. You always had to say the right thing and he lacked tact. 

A young woman gave him a report to read. He took a deep breath and hoped for the best. He read line after line of scientific jargon. It was not bad, Shcherbina hadn't lie but what it could have been worried him. It could have been an unprecedented disaster. It could have killed them all. He thought of his daughters eating breakfast, the could have been living in a completely different world. Radiation was beautiful, the whole intricate process behind a nuclear reactor was like a precise ballet but it was also very dangerous.

"All right, professor. They are ready" the woman called him in.


	2. Meeting adjourned

He went into the room reminding himself he was the expert there. He was the academic authority, damn it!. He tried his best not to trip with his own feet as he got closer to the long table. The politicians greeted him with cold stares. Gorbachev was there, leading the table. He really didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the leader of the country. He might have stood awkwardly for a bit because a handsome man in an expensive suit did a gesture indicating him to take a seat. 

"Thank you all for your duty to this commission" Gorbachev said and Valery started to sweat "let's begin with Deputy Chairman Shcherbina's debriefing"

"Thank you comrade General Secretary" So the handsome man was Boris Shcherbina. He was exactly how Valery imagined him; wide shoulders and a commanding presence. The man had an arm resting on the chair's top rail. Everything there were small power moves "I'm pleased to report that the incident in Chernobyl was not major but it has shown us the deficiencies of our nuclear reactors" he made a pause "Deficiencies that could be potentially dangerous" Valery wondered how could he exude that much confidence talking about something he doesn't fully understand "I been told we can fix the reactors by adding additional absorbers to stop operation at low power. That would be enough to stop any sort of trouble" That .. was just wrong. That wouldn't be enough in a million years. It would be like fixing a leak with a plaster but everyone seemed happy with that. Gorbachev seemed satisfied with that.

"NO, it won't be enough"He said without thinking it. His voice was a bit louder than he wanted.

"Pardon me?" Gorbachev looked puzzled by his interruption. Great way to start, Valery! You will end in a KGB cell at this rate.

"This is professor Legasov of the Kurchatov Institute" Shcherbina said with a bureaucratic tone "Professor if you have any concerns feel free to address them to me later" He sent him a harsh look that clearly meant one thing: shut the fuck up, but Valery was never the one to get social cues.

"Secretary General" he pressed the issue "I'm sorry but if this report is correct the incident could have blown up half of Europe!" They were so lucky that somehow a couple of workers dared to disobey direct orders. He thought of his girls again, what would have been of them in the midst of a nuclear catastrophe?

"There's no place for alarmist hysteria" Shcherbina barked. He had heard that before, he hasdheard that a million times. He was an omega, therefore, he was too emotional, too alarmist, too weak. Valery saw red.

"It's not alarmist! IT'S A FACT!" he yelled "sorry! I am sorry, let me explain myself in a calm manner"

"Professor Legasov" Shcherbina tried to stop him again.

"Boris, I'll allow it" Gorbachev stated.

"Even with the additional absorbers there will still be a tendency for power bursts in presence of steam bubbles. The graphite tips on the control rods would still be a problem" the academic in him started to shine through. This was where he felt more comfortable "We'd need more uranium 235, that's the fuel in our reactors" he looked at the rest of the table.

"I'm guessing that's much more expensive than the other solution" Shcherbina smirked "scientists don't understand how the economy of this country works" 

"what I understand is that we can have a nuclear apocalypse around the corner. We can't gamble with this!" Valery took a deep breath "The design of our RBMK reactors is flawed, we can't risk a core explosion"

"What would we need?" The Secretary General asked. 

"An increase of fuel enrichment, that would be the uranium 235. More modifications on the rods and as comrade Shcherbina said we need additional absorbers" he looked at the man "We also need more manual control rods, maybe 10 more and we have to lengthen them" he glanced at the documents again "The shutdown has to be faster too" it was a major modification, he knew that but it had to be done. Everyone in the country would be in danger otherwise and even with the modifications in place the reactors wouldn't be a hundred percent trustworthy. Shcherbina threw him a questioning look. The Secretary General seemed to be thinking about his next move. Their next move.

"Comrade Shcherbina" Gorbachev said pointing at the man with his folded glasses "I want you to go to Chernobyl" Maybe there was no hope. Politicians will be politicians. 

"Wise choice Secretary General…" Valery looked lowered his eyes to the documents. 

"And take professor Legasov with you" He looked up, surprised of being taken seriously. He was relieved, so relieved but he didn't want to spend time with the abrasive alpha.

"I don't think it's necessary" Shcherbina dared to argue.

"Do you know how a reactor works?" Gorbachev asked being well aware of the answer.

"No"

"No, so how would you know what you are looking at?" The Secretary General gathered his documents "Meeting adjourned" 

Everyone stood up and left the room, leaving Valery alone with Shcherbina. The alpha was shooting daggers at him. He was clearly blaming him for everything wrong in his life. Valery stared back, he was right after all, he refused to back down. The politician stayed in complete silence so Valery took that as a cue to leave. He picked up his folder but as soon as he stood up he heard the alpha's deep voice.

"Where are you going, comrade Legasov? We need to talk about this plan of yours"

"I have to pick my daughters from school, I…" Valery stuttered.

"Can't your mate do it for you?" Shcherbina frowned.

"I… I don't…" Valery adjusted his glasses " that won't be possible" If Shcherbina didn't budge. He could ask the school to keep the girls there a little longer.

"I see" the alpha said in a gentler tone that was still hostile "My secretary will be calling you to arrange a meeting. I'll be expecting you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about nuclear energy so sorry if I wrote something incredibly stupid here, Google was my main source. If you are asking yourself why this story is going so slow is because I'm not sure what to do next haha

**Author's Note:**

> I went and used the patronymics so I probably f*cked up.


End file.
